The Sun Chronicle, a daily newspaper in Attleboro, Massachusetts, has this article on the 25 groups that have asked Massachusetts election officials to keep track of how many registered members they have.

The story doesn’t actually explain to its readers why Massachusetts lets groups file to have their registrations tallied. Starting in 1991, any group that has registration of at least 1% of the total state registration becomes a newly-qualified party. No group has ever managed to achieve 1%.

Other states in which unqualified parties can file to have their registrations tallied are Alaska, California, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, and New York. Sometimes the request must be accompanied with other requirements. New York only keeps the tally for groups that had a statewide candidate on the ballot in a gubernatorial election; Iowa only does it for groups that submit 950 signatures on a petition. Delaware and Louisiana keep track of registration in every group, whether that groups asks for a tally or not.

On August 21, the Ohio Libertarian Party submitted this Request for a Status Conference, which makes the case that the constitutionality of Ohio’s ballot access law should be decided soon, because the deadline for candidates running in 2016 primaries is only four months away.

According to this news story, Pennsylvania officials will ask the Third Circuit to reverse the decision of July 24 that struck down the unique Pennsylvania system that puts minor parties in financial jeopardy if they submit petitions that don’t have enough valid signatures. Thanks to Oliver Hall for the link.